1950 pro 512 MB or 7950 GT 256?

[olmer]

Pro is from GeCube and GT is made by Leadtek

Upgrading with one of the above cards + relevant AC Accelero cooler - x1950 is a wee bit cheaper. Not planning to overclock.

1600x1200

IQ is important. Stability/good drivers/compatibility is even more important. Nothing else bottlenecks

Simply what is the best choice between those two?

Thanks in advance.

 

[olmer]

prices £140 against £160

8800gts is £300 in the UK by the way - so not now, thanks

 

[LOUISSSSS]

x1950 512!

 

[Revolution09]

x1950 pro :thumbsup:

 

[olmer]

Thanks for your replies.

Also is Accelero the best choice or Zalman/third party can be more efficient/quieter?

As i understand there is no way to run any of the above cards passively cooled, is there?

 

[Ranulf]

If the x1950 512 is the cheaper one, go for it. I couldn't find a x1950 512 that I liked near the price of a 512 7950gt.

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: olmer
Thanks for your replies.

Also is Accelero the best choice or Zalman/third party can be more efficient/quieter?

As i understand there is no way to run any of the above cards passively cooled, is there?

The zalman is slightly quieter, but the real winner is the sytrin kuformula vf1. for $30, you get the same noise (or lack thereof) as the zalman, but a lot better performance (cooler).
If you don't feel like installing it yourself though, this is OK.

 

[fire400]

I'd personally say the 7950GT if you have the money, but if the ATI is cheaper, get their Radeon card.

 

[olmer]

sytrin is not an option here in the UK ? it is only reviews that we get. What zalman are you talking about VF700 or ZM-80D? I thought AC was a better performing than later and VF becomes pretty noisy over time?

 

[ronnn]

I have an x2 that has developed a noisy vibration. They will rma it , but have to pay shipping to Vancouver. Have been too lazy so far. Also am not looking forward to removing ram pads, have heard they really stick. Have heard of others also with this problem. But on the up side the x2 really cools the gpu.

 

[acegazda]

the vf900... is that an option across the pond?

 

[olmer]

Yep, it is only £2 more then AC.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=369640

Unfortunately not in the shop i am buying from ? have to pay shipping ? is it worth it?

Actually ? checked Zalman?s warranty and it is only 1 year, - AC gives 6.

I can still change my order with no extra costs ? here are the choices:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/109713/product_info/rb/24175017304

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/91847/product_info/rb/24175017304 + fan http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120892

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120891

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/108407/product_info/rb/24175252462

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i'd take the vf900 ESP if you have a lian li V series case
the upside down mounting of the mb helps the heatpipes dissipate heat

 

[kmmatney]

If your not planning on overclocking, why not stick with the stock cooler? Is it too noisy? You could probably turn down the fan speed a little and be fine if your not overclocking.

 

[40sTheme]

Well, if it's difference between bang for the buck but not as good performance, get the X1950Pro. I just got a 7950GT because most benchmarks show the Pro behind it by about 10-20% performance-wise. But, since your fiddling with video memory here, i'd say get the Pro, mostly because more memory means higher-res/detail. Lemme say, though, the 7950GT is an excellent, excellent overclocker on stock cooling. If you put aftermarket on the Pro, though, it would be a good OCer too.

 

[olmer]

While i still have your attention ? gecube has this plate

http://www.3dnews.ru/_imgdata/img/2006/11/24/33855.jpg

http://www.3dnews.ru/_imgdata/img/2006/11/24/33861.jpg

at the back of the card. Should i keep it where it was once i change over to Accelero?

Thanks in advance.

I will probably overclock if necessary ? i would need to run all the latest games 1600x1200 with full candy until new DX10 high-range cards become reasonable value4money here in the UK (by next Christmas perhaps), this is providing we have some fix to run DX10 on XP. Stock cooler can be turned down, but i believe it will automatically spin up once the temperature reached certain threshold ? i do not want to hear any cat whines/use headphones all the time, but i certainly try using it and playing with settings before unpacking AC ? thanks.

Rest of my system:

C2D E6600 @ stock on Intel 965, 3072MB of Hynix 667 @ 533, Seagate 10-series 320GB as a system disk. (not planning/need to oc cpu for now ? noise increases dramatically)

 

[olmer]

The noise of gecube?s fan on x1950 pro is actually pretty bearable at low rpms. I can send Accelero back and have £20 saved.

Is there any way to turn down/set limit to max allowed rpms without using resident programs?

Modified bios/reg settings/etc...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: olmer
this is providing we have some fix to run DX10 on XP.

Not going to happen, unfortunately. DX10 is one of their ways of hooking gamers into Vista and won't be released on XP at all.

 

[olmer]

Originally posted by: kmmatney
If your not planning on overclocking, why not stick with the stock cooler? Is it too noisy? You could probably turn down the fan speed a little and be fine if your not overclocking.

How?

I have no idea of current temperature/fan speed (pretty sure it is @ 100% all time).

ATItool 0.26/ATI Tray Tools/Everest do not support my card.